Apparatus for drying wool after washing.



W. E. LAYLAND & J. H. WHITEHEAD. APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AFTERWASHING.

A APPLIOATION FILED APR. 24, 1908. 920,35 1

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

FIG. 0

FIG 2 Patented May 4, 1909.

FIG. 5.

W. E. LAYLAND & J. H. WHITEHEAD.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AFTER WASHING.

APPLVIOATION FILED APR. 24, 1908.

920,35 1 Patented May 4., 1909.

2 SHBETS-SHBBT 2.

FIG. 4-.

FIG. 5.

- WW3 QWMMEM M W zzz. m cnfrkd UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE.

WILLIAM EDWARD LAYLAND, OF LEEDS, AND JOHN HENRY \YIIITEHFAD, OFAPIERLIIY BRIDGE, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AFTER WASHING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1909.

Application filed April 24, 1908. Serial No. 428,983.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, W'ILLIAM' EDWARD LAYLAND, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain and Ireland, residing at Leeds, in the county of York, andJOHN HENRY WHIT HEAD, a subject of the King of Great Britain andIreland, residing at Apperley Bridge, in the county of York, England,have invented a certain new and useful Improved Apparatus for Dryingl/Vool After Washing, for which we have applied for Letters Patent inGreat Britain. and Ireland, No. 17,108, hearing date July 26, 1907, andof which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to ap )aratus used for drying wool more particulary in connection with back washing machines, and in which the sliver iscarried around a series of revolving hollow cylinders of perforatedsheet metal in such a manner, that first one side of the sliver comes incontact with one of the cylinders and then the other side in contactwith the second cylinder, then the first side in contact with the thirdcylinder and so on. At the same time heated air drawn or forced fJom theinterior of the cylinders through the perforations and through thesliver.

Now the object of this invention is to utilize to the utmost the dryingcapacity of the air, by preventing leakage of air through the portionsof the cylinders for the time being not covered by the slivers, and onlyallowing the air to escape from the machine and to be replaced by freshair, when it has taken up all or nearly all the moisture it is capableof holding, that is when it is saturated or nearly saturated withmoisture, by causing the air to' be repeatedly circulated around that isWithin t e apparatus, and consequently rcpeatedly passed through theslivergand invention.

providing openings for the escape of saturated air and the entrance offresh with adjustable covers, which can be so regulated or adjusted,that the escape and admission of tion on line A A of Fig. 2 of a dryingapparatus or machine constructed according to this Fig. 2, is alongitudinal section through the cylinder chamber, that is on line B Bof Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a longitudinal section through the heatingchamber, that is on line of Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is an outside elevation.Fig. 5, is a cross section showing a modification in the arrangement ofthe means for heating and circulating the heated air.

In all the figures, the same letter is used to indicate the same orcorresponding part.

a, Fig. 2, is the washing machine, delivering the washed wool i. 6., thesliver, to the feeding rollers b feeding the washed wool into the dryingmachine.

c and (l are respectively the back and front sides, and e and f, thereceiving and delivery ends of the casing of the drying machine.

(1 Fig. 1, is a partition dividing the interior of the machine into acylinder chamber h and a heating chamber "i are the drying cylindersformed of perforated sheet metal, carried at one end by rings it. Eachring has a gear wheel lformed on or affixed to it, so that all thecylinders are geared together and driven at a uniform speed. The ringsIf? fit rotatably on turned ring races m, bolted to or cast on thepartition 7, around circular openings cast in the partition. Theopposite ends of the cylinders are attached to and carried by coned diskcenter pieces n, which close in this end ofthe cylinders. The centerpieces n are I mounted rotatably on stud pins 0 carried by crossed archsupports or brackets p from the fixed ring races m.

The dotted lines S Fig. -2. sliver being carried around the c *lindersi.

(1 are guide rollers and r are de ivery rollers.

The means for imparting motion to the cylinders do not form part of thisinvention, and as such are well known they are with the exception of theconnecting gear wheels omitted from the drawings.

t are nests of vertical steam pipes fixed in the upper side of the steambox a situated at the bottom of the heating chamber 7', and connectedwith some source supplying steam.

to is a fan forcing air into the heating chamber Where it is heated. Theheated air then passes through the openings in the partition g into theinterior of the c linders 'i, and escapes therefrom through theperforations in the cylinders and through the sliver surrounding thecylinders.

It will be seen from Fig. 2, that the silver S carried successivelyaround with the perforated cylinders '11, covers at any time only threefourths or thereabout of the circumsqueezing head of the back indicatethe ference of each cylinder; leaving one fourth uncovered, throughwhich the air would escape without carrying off any moisture from thesliver. N ow according to this in- I vention we cover this one fourth orthereabout of each cylinder with a stationary baffle plate 8, secured tothe fixed ring race m i or the bracket p. This baffle plate .9 is most lsuitably placed within the cylinder. In this manner the air is preventedfrom escaping direct from the interior of the cylinder, and is icompelled to pass through the sliver, carryl ing oil part of themoisture contained in the sliver with it. Further owing to the shorttime the heated air is in contact passing through the sliver, it cannotwith one passage through the sliver carry away all the moisture it iscapable of holding. To avoid the waste of heat from this cause,according to this invention we connect the upper part of the cylinderchamber h with the lower part of the drying chamber by means of a largepipe or passage '1), and we place the fan to in this 5 passage,conveniently near its junction with i the heating chamber By this meansthe heated air is caused to circulate repeatedly within the dryingmachine, that is to pass repeatedly through the sliver, so that it hasthe opportunity of taking up all the moisture which owing to itstemperature it is capable of doing; that is of becoming saturated. Toallow of the escape of the saturated air and the admission of fresh air,we provide an opening or openings at and y, iitted with movable, gratedcovers or shutters, so that the size of the opening can be regulated insuch a manner as to keep the air circulating till it is nearly saturatedbefore escaping. If this is too low, the shutters or covers are adjustedto reduce the opening.

In Fig. 5 each cylinder is provided with a circulating fan w in thecorresponding opening in the'partition g, and a coil 2 of heating pipesis placed within the cylinder in addition to the pipes 25 in the heatingchamber It will be understood from what we have said at the commencementof this speciiica tion, that drying machines with perforated cylindersthrough which heated air has been passed, have been used before, we donot therefore claim such a combination broadly.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination in a wool drying machamber h, "a series of hollowperforated revolving cylinders i Within the drying chamber closed at oneend and open at the other 1 end, the open ends coinciding with openingsin the partition g, balile plates 8 fitted against the portion of thecircumferences of the cylinders i for the time being uncovered by thesliver, heating pipes t situated in the heating chamber j, an aircirculation pipe c from said drying chamber to said heating chamber, afan 11; in the path of the air current and discharge and inlet openingsa" y all substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of perforated hollow cylinders arranged in two rowsone above the other and in alternating order and adapted to have acurrent of heated air pass through them with means for moving andguiding the sliver which passes from row to row of said cylindersalternately over and under them as shown and baflle plates arrangedwithin said cylinders to cover the per forations of those parts of-themover which the sliver does not pass substantially as set forth.

3. In a wool drying machine the combination of a partition 7 withopenings therein, wheel races m around said openings, hollow perforatedcylinders i, closed at one end a, and open at the other end, gear wheelZ to said open ends of the cylinders fitting said wheel races m, allsubstantially as set forth.

4. In a drying machine the combination of a heating chamber, a dryingchamber and their casing with a pipe making connection between them andmeans for controlling the inflow of fresh air to the interior of thecasing and the discharge of moist air therefrom substantially as setforth.

5. In a wool drying machine the combination of a cylinder chamber 71 apartition g or wall of the same with circular openings therein, fans 10fitted in said openings, revolving perforated cylinders with one oftheir ends open and coincident with said openings, stationary steamheating pipes .2 within said cylinders and battle plates 3 allsubstantially as shown in Fig. 5 and specifiedf In testimony whereof wehave signed our names to this specification in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM EDWARD IJAYLAND. JOHN HENRY WHITEHEAI).

VVitnessesz- J. CLARK JEFFERSON, IV. S. EDMoNDsoN.

